


This Feeling

by RowanWhitethorn333



Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: F/M, Oneshot, Sokeefe - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26870287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RowanWhitethorn333/pseuds/RowanWhitethorn333
Summary: Takes place after Legacy. A series of chronological one-shots that shows the growth of Sophie, Keefe, and their relationship.
Relationships: Sophie/Keefe
Comments: 8
Kudos: 29





	1. This Feeling

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! My first time writing a one shot and first time writing in KOTLC universe. Feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Sophie sat on the edge of her cot, her hand gripping Keefe's, which hung limply from the cot right next to hers. Keefe's hair was plastered to his forehead, which was to be expected considering Keefe had been in a coma for a month. Regardless of this, Sophie still thought Keefe was as cute as ever... wait what? Where did that come from? She quickly shook the thought from her head. She knew if Keefe had known what she was thinking, he would say, "I knew you couldn't resist the Keefester!" 

Sophie blinked back her tears, resisting the temptation to cry again. It felt like that was all she'd been doing for the past month. In fact, she'd barely left the Healing Center at all. Only a few times a week to go home, shower, and grab a change of clothes. Other than that, she practically lived at the Healing Center now. If Keefe knew this, he would've said, "Aw, Foster, I knew you loved me."

" _Stop it, Sophie_ ", she thought to herself. " _Thinking like this only makes it hurt more_ ".

"Good morning, Sophie," Elwin said, snapping her out of her reverie. "How're you doing?"

"Hey, Elwin. I'm doing as well as I can, I guess," Sophie said softly.

Elwin smiled sadly in response. "Did you sleep well at least?". 

"Yeah," Sophie said. And then she yawned. She could imagine Keefe saying, "You do remember you can't lie to an Empath, right?"

Suddenly, Sophie jumped off the cot, releasing Keefe's hand, and yelled, "I can't do this anymore!"

Elwin looked up, startled. Ro burst through the door, asking, "What happened? I heard yelling. Is our favorite Lord Hunkyhair awake?"

" _If Keefe was here, he would say... AH STOP IT SOPHIE!_ " She thought to herself. " _This needs to stop, now!_ "

"I wish," she said out loud, a noticeable twinge of sadness in her voice. "But no. I was yelling because I can't just sit here and do nothing anymore. There _HAS_ to be a way for me to help Keefe." She paused for a moment, thinking. "I have to inflict on him."

Ro and Elwin glanced at each other, confused. "Uh... didn't you already do that?" asked Elwin

"Yeah," added Ro. "Like three times."

"I know," said Sophie, "But I think I know what I need to do differently. The last few times, I inflicted happiness, but with happiness from my _OWN_ memories. But what if I can gain a stronger response from his mind by inflicting happiness that comes from _HIS_ memories?"

Elwin didn't look convinced. "I don't know, Sophie. Have you ever done that before?"

"No," Sophie replied. "However, this is the only thing I haven't tried. So I have to. For him,". Her voice broke on the last two words. 

Ro hesitated for a moment, but must have seen the devastation on Sophie's face, because she said, "Ok, Blondie. We can try. And I have something that I think can help you."

She reached into her armor, presumably into some sort of secret hiding compartment (which Sophie was not the least bit surprised about), and pulled out a few notebooks. Sophie saw the familiar green, silver, brown, and gold notebooks that Keefe had started recording memories in. 

"Why do you have those with you?" Sophie asked curiously. 

"I knew that Lord Snootypants would take this opportunity to snoop around Lord Hunkyhair's room, so I took these for safekeeping. The only reason I'm showing these to you is because if you need happy memories of his, then these will do the trick," Ro replied. 

"Oh, I've seen the brown notebook before," Sophie said. "That's where he kept his good memories, right?" 

" _Some_ of his happy memories, yes. But a lot of them, the happiest ones, are in here." Ro grabbed the golden one, holding it out to Sophie. 

"Why didn't he show these ones to me before?" Sophie wondered, reaching out to take it from Ro. 

"You'll see," was the reply. Then Ro added under her breath, "And maybe you'll finally stop being so oblivious."

"What?" asked a confused Sophie, not hearing the last part.

"Just open the notebook, Blondie!" 

Slowly, with shaking hands, she opened up the notebook. Immediately, she gasped. In the image, a figure with blond hair was sitting on the ground. And she realized it was her. It took her a moment to remember the time and place, and she realized it was the first time she had met Keefe. She was in Keefe's ditching spot. This must be Keefe's first memory of her. She flipped the page. The first thing she noticed was the Four Season Tree. Then she saw herself, as well as Dex, lying on the ground. It was the moment that her friends had found her, alive rather than dead as they had previously thought. She flipped the page again. And continued to flip. She saw her and Keefe riding on Silveny towards the caves. There was the window sleepovers they had during their time at Alluveterre. The moment Keefe found her at Lumenaria when disaster had struck. Her and Keefe sitting on the staircase at Havenfield, her promising he had people who cared about him. Countless memories, and in each and everyone of them, there was one, undeniable theme: her. Suddenly, the images stopped. There were still a couple of empty pages left. Sophie flipped to the end, about to close the notebook, when words on the final page caught her eye. 

_I love you, Sophie Foster._

Sophie froze, trying to comprehend the words. She thought back to all the memories she had of Keefe, of the ones that had been in the notebook, and also others. Memories of every time Keefe hugged her, the warm feeling that surround her when he told her it would be alright. Memories of Keefe squeezing her hand, the calm that rushed over when she was reminded he was there. Memories of the gratefulness she felt when Keefe supported her, no matter what. Memories of Keefe's broken expression whenever he felt like he wasn't enough, and the sadness Sophie felt when she had to convince him that he was. Because he really was. He was more than enough. He was... everything. 

She sprinted over to Keefe's side, and grabbed his hand. With no hesitation, she delved into his mind. 

" _Keefe?"_ she transmitted into his mind. _"I don't know if you can hear me. But I really hope you do. Because you need to come back. We all miss you. We all need you. **I** need you_." Then, she took every ounce of strength she had left, and started to inflict. 

She inflicted the happiness she had gleaned from his drawings, the comfort, the love. She added her own emotions, all the feelings she had gained as she thought back to everything she had gone through with Keefe. She even inflicted the sadness she felt, since Keefe wasn't with her. She inflicted every single thing she possibly could. And together, they melded into one single emotion; one single feeling. This feeling was light and dark. It was happiness and sadness. It was joy and anger. It was all the colors of the rainbow. It was easy, and it was hard. It was everything she could possibly feel. She didn't yet understand what this feeling was. Is it love? Maybe. But she wasn't sure. All she knew is that it was overwhelming, but at the same time, she couldn't imagine life without it. Was she scared of what this meant? Definitely. 

But all of these worries didn't matter. Because when she stared into those ice-blue eyes as they fluttered open, she knew. Because this feeling was him. Because this feeling was her. Because this feeling was them. No matter what happened, no matter what this all meant, it would all be ok. Because with him, it would always be ok.


	2. This Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so originally this was just a one-shot, but I got an idea. It is now a series of chronological oneshots, so it will be like snapshots of Sokeefe as they and their relationship progress. Hope you enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is chapter one, but from Keefe's perspective. Sorry it's a bit shorter. Hope you enjoy!

His mind was full of darkness; nothing but an empty void. The cold emptiness was all he could feel. Except once in a while, something would prod its way into his mind. A small piece of joy and color, reaching out, trying to clear out the murky blackness. Like a ray of light shining through the clouds on a rainy day. Sometimes this bit of light would speak to him. Sometimes he swore he heard it say, " _Keefe. Please come back_ ". 

Keefe. Was that him? Was Keefe his name? He didn't remember. He didn't remember anything beyond this prison that was his own mind. But that light, that voice... that beautiful, gentle, angelic voice was so achingly familiar. Hearing it tugged at something deep inside him. When he heard it, he felt a pang, a desperation, a longing. He knew this voice. But he didn't remember how. And every time he was close to figuring it out, the voice faded away. So for now, he just clung on to it whenever it dove it's way into his consciousness; he held on to it, like a lifeline. It was the only thing that kept him grounded; without it, he was afraid that he would float away, and disappear into the dark abyss.

The voice continually weaved in and out of his mind, once in a while accompanied by a vision. A snapshot of flowing blond hair. A glimpse of golden brown eyes. A flash of a small but brilliant smile. Keefe didn't know who she was, but he could tell she was important to him. And he knew that it was her that kept him from vanishing into the depths of his own mind. But no matter now hard Keefe fought, he couldn't escape the darkness. No matter how hard he tried to reacher _her_ , it was impossible. 

But one day... it was different. This time, when she wormed her way into his head, the light inside of her was brighter, more intense. And for the first time, he could hear her voice with absolute clarity. 

" _Keefe,"_ the voice said. " _I don't know if you can hear me But I really hope you do."_

 _"Yes,"_ Keefe wanted to say. _"Yes, I can hear you."_

" _Because you need to come back,"_ said that angelic voice. 

" _I want to,"_ thought Keefe helplessly. _"I'm trying."_

" _We all miss you. We all need you."_ Keefe desperately wanted to erase the pain that was in her voice. 

_"I miss you too. And even if I don't know who you are, I know that I need you."_ It was true. Whoever this girl was... he knew that without her, he was nothing. 

_" **I** need you."_

_"I'm here,"_ he wanted to say. _"I'm here. I promise."_

Without warning, a hurricane of light and color and feelings swarmed him. He felt happiness, sadness, anger, pain, and everything in between. All these emotions combined and clashed and forged and fought until it produced one single feeling. And as this feeling settled inside him, it broke the barrier around his mind. This feeling washed over him, surrounding him, overwhelmed him. Suddenly, visions started to flood his mind. He saw himself and the blond girl flying through the air on the back of an animal. He saw them sitting together, her holding his hand, comforting him. He saw himself drawing her over and over again until his hands bled. The theme of each vision became clear: it was all about her. That feeling that had settled in him was present in each and every one of these visions. This feeling held more meaning than anything else he had ever felt. He wasn't sure what this feeling was, though. All he knew was that this feeling stemmed from this girl from his visions. No, wait.. these aren't just visions. They're memories. And not just any memories. _**HIS**_ memories. 

This realization caused everything to flood back. Memory after memory surrounded him, and he remembered everything. But, he could only focused on one thing. 

_Foster._

How could he have forgotten his Foster? His light, his life, his... love. That's what that feeling was. Of course it was Foster who had kept him from fading away. Of course it was Foster, with her brilliant smile and even more brilliant heart, that had saved him. He wanted to go back to her. God, did he want to. But... she didn't feel the way he did. Did she? He didn't think so. Which is why he was terrified. Because he knew he couldn't hold back his feelings anymore. But it didn't matter. Sophie needed him. And he would always be there for her. Because he loved this girl. 

He drew on this feeling, this overwhelming love he had for Sophie, and using this new found strength, pushed and pushed himself to the surface. He struggled and fought, but he refused to give up. 

_"I'm coming, Sophie. I'm coming"._

With one last push, he burst through the veil of darkness around his mind, and his eyes flew open. 


	3. This Moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for a) the long wait (life is busy y'all) and b) this one is shorter, but I hope you enjoy!

"Keefe!" Sophie gasped, as his eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, Foster," Keefe said weakly. He winced in pain as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. Sophie let out a sob, and flung herself onto him, holding him tight, never wanting to let go.

With his remaining strength, Keefe lifted his arms and wrapped them around Sophie. "I missed you too. Because, you obviously missed me. I mean, who wouldn't miss my fabulous self?" He never was able to resist cracking a joke, whether it was an appropriate time or not.

Instead of laughing, Sophie started sobbing harder, her whole body shaking as she gripped Keefe tighter, her head burrowed into the crook of his neck. Startled and concerned, Keefe quickly attempted to calm her down.

"Hey, hey, hey", he said softly. "It's ok, I'm here now. It's ok. I'm ok". He continued to whisper assurances, gently stroking the back of her head. "It's ok. I'm here. I won't leave you again".

Slowly, Sophie's cry diminished into soft sniffles. Abruptly, she sat up, startling Keefe. Suddenly, without a warning, she started to punch Keefe's arm. Multiple times.

"Don't. You. Ever. Do. That. Again!" she exclaimed between punches. Then she stopped, realizing what she had just did, looking a bit embarrassed.

Keefe only chuckled. "I guess I should be glad you're not wearing your Sucker Punch."

Sophie let out a half-smile, then said quietly, "You really scared me, you know that?"

Keefe's face softened. "I'm sorry, Foster. I'll try to run into danger less often, ok?"

Sophie let out a shaky laugh. "We both know that's a promise neither of us can keep, no matter how many times we say it."

Keefe sighed. "C'mere," he said, opening his arms again.

Sophie lay down next to him, nestling into his arms. In that moment, nothing else mattered. In that moment, they didn't think about their friends, their family, their undefined relationship, or the Neverseen. They just lay together, side by side, Keefe's arms cocooning her. All that mattered was that both of them were okay, that they were able to be here, right now. They had each other. And that was all they needed.

In this moment, they felt like the only two people in the world. They were lost in the comfort of each other, savoring it, wishing they could stay there forever.

Of course, they weren't the only two people in the world. In fact, they weren't even the only two people in the room. Because alas, they failed to realize that Elwin and Ro had never left...


End file.
